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Form of workCobrey Farms is family run business based in Ross-On-Wye, in the West of England. We have over 1200 Ha of land and are one of the biggest producers of asparagus in the UK. We also grow blueberries, green beans and potatoes. We sell our crops into large supermarkets and restaurants.
We have farms in Herefordshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk.
The site in Herefordshire, is situated near the town of Ross-on-Wye.
We employ around 1300 seasonal workers every year and rely upon these people to harvest, grade and pack our crop which is then distributed out to the major supermarkets in the UK.
In our Herefordshire site there are about 800 employees, most of whom live on site in mobile homes provided.
Job Roles Available.
Harvesting Asparagus
Asparagus must be harvested daily and by hand, there is currently no option to mechanise this. Its growth is purely dependent upon the temperature and under 12 degrees it will not grow. In the best conditions it will grow up to 10cms per day.
The work will involve:
• Harvesting asparagus to a high quality standard - Asparagus will be harvested by walking within the field and stooping to cut plants as you go, by your own or following close behind a tractor rig.
• Collecting asparagus into trays – You will carry with you 2-3 trays and walk through the field, stooping to collect the asparagus bunches, or you will follow the tractor rig and you will leave the bunches which you harvested in the crate in front of you .
• Daily use of knives to assist in the cutting of the asparagus.
• Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms, legs and moving your whole body. You will be required to lift, walk, stoop and handle heavy materials.
• To cover and re-cover polythene cloches and to adjust metal hoops on a daily basis.
All harvest is physically demanding and requires physically fit people with the desire to achieve.
People with previous back problems may not be suitable for jobs at Cobrey Farms as there is a lot of bending and heavy lifting involved with picking asparagus. Please make sure before accepting the job you are able to bend and walk for long periods of time.
We have a good team of supervisors and managers who are on hand to support and train our staff. There may be opportunities to move into supervisor roles (and earn more) for those people that show aptitude, have the right skills, and can communicate with the management team.
Packhouse Work
• Moving trays of asparagus from the hydro cooler onto the grading line.
• Grading asparagus depending upon size and quality.
• Packing asparagus into relevant packaging dependent upon size, quality and customer.
• You will be required to always wear the correct personal protective equipment such as hair nets and coats.
• You will be required to comply with all relevant customer, health and safety, food safety, hygiene and environmental requirements and legislation.
A packhouse role will involve working indoors in our very busy packhouse. You will be required to stand for long periods of time in one position with a lot of twisting and reaching.
The job is physically demanding and still requires physically fit people with the desire to achieve.
Due to the rural location of our farm, the majority of our staff live on site in mobile homes provided. We are not on a bus route and are 35 minutes walking distance from the local town.
You must have legal right to work in the UK.
Please visit our website for more information.
